Valve mechanism for explosive engines



June 12, 1928. 1,673,734

E. L. com:

VALVE MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES Filed Dec. 18, 1925 2 Sheets-Shee 1 6.5 45 .5 65 21 zz Z 40 V 7 J6 J1 Jill 252$. 6'00?! Ind Eda)- F y I J33; Jii'orrwy.

June 12, 1928.

E. L. COON VALVE MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES Filed Dec. 18, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet Jaw 0&1; 600w, Iu/mw: By u liliarney,

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Patented June 12, 1928.

UNITED STATES EDWIN L. COON, 033 SILVER GREEK, NEW YORK.

VALVE MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

Application filed December 18, 1925.

My invention relates to improvements in valve mechanism for engines, and more particularly for internal combustion engines, and the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicientvalve mechanism having a single control element, regardless of the number of cylinders provided in the engine; said single control elementcontrolling the explosive mixture to each of the cylinders and also the exhaust of the burnt gases therefrom in properly timed relation.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a valve mechanism for engines of the kind mentioned, which consists of comparatively few parts and in which the possibility of leakage of the explosive mixture past the *alve of the mechanism becomes minimized after use of the mechanism.

Another object of my invention is to provide a valve mechanism for engines, which is practically noiseless and in whiclrprovision is made for properly lubricating and cooling the same as to prevent warping of the valve and to assure free and perfect action of the same.

Other objects are to improve on valve mechanisms for engines of the type mentioned, to the end that the explosive mixture cannot escape until properly compressed within the cylinder or cylinders to which it is fed and therein exploded; and also to the end that admission of the explosive mixture is prevented during the time of exhausting the exploded and burnt gases.

ll ith the above and other objects in view to appear hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to he hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.

1n the drawings Fig. 1 a vertical longitudinal section taken through a four cylinder engine equipped with my improved invention, in which I now consider its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section takenon line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Serial No. 76,153.

Fig. lis a horizontal section taken on line a d, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

F ig. 5 is a transverse section taken on line 55, Fig. 1. l

Fig. (5 is a rear end view of the upper por tion of the engine.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the rotatable valve forming part of my invention.

The invention will be fully understood by reference to the illustration of the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, which is to be considered as illustrative only of the principle involved, but which may be embodied in various modified arrangements.

'1 he engine illustrated is of the four-cylindcr four-cycle type, and the adaptation of my invention to this engine is merely reprcsentative, it is equally adapted, under slight modification, for engines of the twocycle type, or of either type regardless of the number of cylinders employed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the

reference numeral 10 designates part of the crank case of the engine, which invariably is castin piece with the cylinders, designated by the numeral 11. As is common in engine construction, these cylinders are provided at their upper or outer ends with a water jacket 12, and fitted onto the block of cylinders is a valve casing 13.

14 designates the crank shaft, 15 the pistons within the cylinders, and 16 the piston rods connecting the pistons with the cranks of the crank shaft.

The valve casing is in the main cylindrical in cross section, but has a downwardly flaring portion 17 provided with outstanding longitudinal flanges 18 at opposite sides and at oppoiiite ends. This valve casing 13 is cored out around the major portion of its circumferential wall and into the downwardly flaring portion 17 to provide a water chamber or space 19 which, at certain points, such as shown at 20 or elsewhere as may be deemed practicable, has connection with the water jacket 12 around the cylinders. Cooling water circulated through the space or chamber 19 of the valve casing, which may also be termed a water jacket, and through the water jacket surrounding the outer or upper portions of the cylinders,

in any suitable manner. By providing the valve casing with a water jacket, it has an outer wall 21 and an inner wall 22, the inner surface of the latter being machined to true cylindrical form and given a well [inished surface. By water jacketing this valve casing, the inner wall 22 is maintained in cool conditiomthus preventing warping of the same, which is highly essential in connection with a valvemechanism of the type herein employed. The downwardly flaring portion of the valve casing, in addition to having the water chamber or space 19 extended into the Opposite walls thereof,ishollowed out between said walls to form explosion chambers 23, which taper upwardly from the under side of the valve casing, said under side being flat and the outer or upper ends of the cylinders being also flat to permit the interposition of a gasket 24.

Through the flanges 18 ofthe valve casing, securing bolts 25-are passed which are threaded into the cylinders, and thus, with the aid of the gasket 24, the valve casing is firmly SQCIIICdztO the block of the cylinders in a leak-proof manner. The explosion chambers 23 formed in the bottom of the valve casing extend upwardly to the inner wall'22 of the valve casing and expose said inner wall from the bottom of said casing. This exposed portion, or bridge portion of the inner wall 22 as itmay be termed, due to the fact that it bridges the space between the two side walls of the downwardly flaring portion 17, has inlet openings 26 formed therein which are disposed at practically regular intervals along the length of said wallat one side of the longitudinal center of said'valve casin and at the other side thereof said expoied or bridge portion of the wall 22 has the exhaust or outlet openings 27 arranged therein at p 'actieally regular intervals along its length.

The valve casing is preferably open at opposite ends, and extending centrally thereinto'from one end thereof is a non-rotatable conduit member or filler 28, which is hollowed out to provide a cylindrical wall 29, a diametralwall 30, and a radial all 31 extending from said diametral wall to said cylindrical wall, thus forming within said conduit member or filler, an elongated chamber 32inthe form of a quadrant and two passages or conduits 34:, one in the form ofa quadrant and the other of semi-circular formation in cross section, respecti'vely. Opposite ends of said non-rotatable conduit member or filler are closed, as at 36, re spec-tively, the. rear end thereof being provided with an outstanding flange 37 which overlaps the water-jacketed wall of the valve casing and is secured thereto by means of bolts 38 or otherwise; suitablepacking. if desired, being interposed between said flange and the valve casing at this point. Said conduit member or filler is of somewhat smaller diameter than the interior diameter of the valve casing 13 into which it is immovably positioned, and the exterior thereof is machined to true cylindrical form.

The inner machined surface of the cylindrical wall 22 of the valve casing and the outer machined surface of the conduit member or liller provide perfect seats for a cylindrical or sleeve valve 39 interposed between the tw said valve having its inner and outer surfaces formed cylindrically true for perfect contact, respectively, with the outer surface of the conduit member or filler 28 and the inner surface of the valve casing, or more particularly the inner surface of the inner cylindrical wall 22 of said casing.

Said valve is open at one end so that it may be slipped over the conduit member or filler 28 from the front end of the valve easin", and pinned or otherwise secured within its front end is a spider 40, to the hub of which a shaft 41 is pinned or otherwise fastened.

The non-rotatable conduit member or filler 28 is somewhat shorterthan the valve casing and its front or closed end terminates within said valve casing a short distance from the front end of the latter, thus providing space within the valve casing for the spider -10 of the rotatable valve, the inner edge or surface of which spider may be in rotatable contact with the closed front end of said conduit member or filler, while thefrontend of the spider and the body of the rotatable valve to which said spider is secured is flush with the front edge of the valve casing 13. The front end of said valve casing is closed by a cap 42 fastened to said valve casing by means of bolts 43, or otherwise.

The. shaft of the rotatable valvecxtcnds forward axially through said cap 42, and has preferably a bevel gear 44 secured thereto, which is in mesh with a bevel gear 45 fastened to the upper end of a vertical shaft 46 journaled in suitable bearings 47 at the front of the engine. To the lower end of said vertical shaft, abevel gear 48 is secured which is in.mesh with a bevel gear 49 on the crank shaft- 14.

By means of the gearing arrangement described, the rotatable valve 39 is rotated from the engine shaft, the gearing being arranged so that one complete revolution of the rotatable valve takes place duringtwo revolutions of the crank shaft 14. It is of course apparent that the rotatable valve may be otherwise driven from the crank shaft or directly from some part operated from the c 'ank shaft of the engine.

The quadrant-a1 chamber 32 within the conduit member or filler 28 serves as an oil chamber, and an oil supply pipe 50 is threaded into the closed rear end of said member or filler so as to open into said oil chamber. At intervals along said member or filler so as to discharge from said oil chamber in close proximity of the radial wall, or bottom of said chamber as it may be termed, oil openings 51 are provided. Oil is maintained within said oil chamber and escapes through said oil openings 51 to properly lubricate the inner surface of the rotatable valve, the oil chamber being prefrably filled with oil and so maintained under pressure.

The quadrantal conduit or passage 33 is employed as an inlet conduit or passage for the explosive mixture, and connected to the rear end thereof is a mixture inlet tube 52 adapted for connection with a carburetor or other source of supply. In the outer wall of said inlet conduit or passage 33, inlet openings 53 are formed, said inlet openings being disposed to register with the inlet openings 26 in the valve casing.

The semi-circular passage or conduit 34 is utilized as an exhaust passage, and connected to its rear end is an exhaust tube 54 which may lead to a mutiler, or otherwise dispose of the burnt gases. This exhaust conduit or passage 84 has exhaust openings 55 in the outer wall thereof, which register with the exhaust openings 27 in the valve casing.

The nonrotatable conduit member or tiller 28 therefore has its inlet for the explosive fuel or mixture and the exhaust for the burnt gases arranged at its rear end, with the result that the explosive fuel or mixture passing to all of the cylinders of the engine is thoroughly heated. particularly since the exhaust passage 34 is co-extensive with the inlet passage This assures effective and economical consumption of the fuel or mixture and particularly results in a quicker starting of the engine during cold weather.

By interposing the rotatable "alive 39 between the conduit member or filler and the valve casing. positive and noiseless control of the explosive mixture from the inlet conduit or passage 33 to the explosion chamhers 23 of the engine is assured, and like control is secured for the exhaust of the burnt gases from said explosion chambers to the exhaust conduit or passage 34. For this purpose, however. the rotatable valve is provided with inletports 56 and exhaust ports 57, and it may here be stated that the inlet and exhaust openings provided for each cylinder in the valve casing and the non-rotatable conduit member or filler, are out of transverse alineinent. as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and a like disposition of the inlet and exhaust ports in the rotatable valve is consequently necessary. The registering inlet and exhaust openings in the conduit member or filler and the valve casing have fixed locations, while the inlet and exhaust ports in the rotatable valve are adapted to be moved into and out of registration with their co-act-ing inlet and exhaust openings, such registration being timed and effected by the gearing disclosed, or other suitable mechanism interposed be tween the crank shaft and said rotatable, valve.

It is to be noted that the inlet port 56 provided in the rotatable valve for each cylinder, is out of longitudinal alinemcnt with the inlet ports for the remaining cylinders, and this disalinement is also provided for the exhaust ports 5!.

As the bridge portion of the cylindrical wall 22 of the valve casing is of considerable area, 1 preferably provide the same with webs 58, 59, one web extending from each inlet opening 26 to the distant wall of the explosion chamber, while another extends from the exhaust openings 29 in an opposite direction, thus preventing warping ot' the bridge portion of said wall and assuring a tight contact between the rotatable valve and the cylindrical wall of the valve casing at points surrounding its inlet and exhaust openings.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, the inlet opening 26 for the third cylinder 01 the engine, and consequently the inlet opening 53 registering therewith, is shown open, due to the fact that thecorresponding inlet port of the rotatable valve is in registration therewith. lVhen the rotatable valve is so positioned, the exhaust opening 27 for the fourth cylin der and the registering exhaust opening 55 are open, due to the fact that the corresponding exhaust port in the rotatable valve is in registration therewith; all other inlet and outlet ports for the engine being shown in closed position.

Each of the explosion chambers 23 has a spark plug opening 60 :tormed in one of the walls of the downwardl flaring portion of the valve easing into which a spark plug 61 is threaded, said spark plug being e1ectrically connected with a battery or other suitable source of electrical energy. and timed to ignite the explosive mixture in the cylinder with which it co-operates at the proper time.

To properly luln'icate the exterior surface oi the rotatable valve, the valve chamber is preferably provided at its crest with oil openings 62, and into these openings oil pipes 63 are threaded through which oil under pressure is delivered to the exterior surface of the valve. The valve is therefore lubricated externally and internally so as to assure smooth and even operation for the same. i

The mechanism shown in the drawings for operating the rotatable valve imparts constant rotation to said valve. in one direction, but if desired, mechanism which will interlot! mittently rotate said valve may be employed, and the selected valve-operating mechanism may be arrangedfto rotate the .valve inran opposite direction, in which case t-he: location of the inlet and exhaust openings and the in let and exhaust ports will be changed; In any event, rotationuof the valve is so timed that the explosive mixture is allowed to enter each cylinder from the inlet conduit 0r passagew33 during the downward stroke of the piston in a given cylinder, this being permitted due to the fact that the inlet'port of thezvalve uncovers the inlet openings 26 and 53 in the valve casing 13 and conduit passage 33, respectively? At the end of tho downward-stroke of thepiston, the valve will have rotated to a sutlicient extent to completely. close saidinlet openings. 26 and 53so that the explosive mixture will-become compressed during the upwardumovemcnt of thcco-operating piston, and when the piston reaches a certain point initsupward movement, which may be during, the final upward movement thereof or at the limit of its upward movement, the explosive mixture will becomeignited and the :force thereof act upon the piston to move thewsame downwardly. During the next upward movement of the piston, the exhaust port in the rotatable valve co-operating thercwith will be brought into registration with the exhaust openings 27 and in the valve casing and conduit member or filler, respec tively, thus allowing the burnt gases to escape through the exhaust conduit or passage 34, said exhaust port closingsaid exhaust openings 27 and 55 bythe time the piston reachesthe limit of its upward movement. About the same time, the corresponding inlet port in the valve again comes into registration with the inlet openings 26 and-53 so that.the explosive mixture will be drawn into the cylinder during the next downward movement of the piston. This. action isrepeated in each of the cvlinders, the explosion taking place first in cylinder No. 1, next in cylinder No. 3, then in cylinder No. 4, and finally in cylinder No. 2, or in any other order that will assure proper rotation of the engine shaft.

As the disposition of the inlet and exhaust ports in the rotatable valve and the timing of the device required for proper operation will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, I do not deem it necessary to further describe the relative location of said ports or to enter in detail as to the timing operation.

It will be clear from the above that'with thecxception of the rotatable valve and parts for causing rotation of the same, all parts of the device are fixed and immovable. and that in this invention, regardless of", the number of cylinders employed in an engine, a single valve controls both the supply otthc explosive mixture to and the exhaust of the burnt gases from all of the cylinders of the engine.

It is further to be understood that various changes -in construction, assemblage and mode of operation may be resorted to w1tbout departingirom the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

lv'lhe combination with a cylinder and its piston, of a valve casing closing the outer end of said cylinder and having a cylindrical'valve chambertherein, a conduit member disposed centrally within said valve chamber and having its axis coincident with theraxis of said valve chamber, said conduit member having an inlet conduit co-extensive therewith, an exhaust conduit co-extcnsive therewith, and'an oil clmmbcizsaid oil chamber being provided with oil ducts opening outwardly, and a sleeve valve interposed between the wall oi said valve chamber and said-eonduit member and receivin; oil from said oil ducts, said l(UVU valve having an inlet port and an exhaust port therein, and meansxl'or rotating said sleeve valve.

2. Thecombination with a cylinder and a piston within said cylinder. of a valve casingopening into-said cylinder. a sleeve valve within said valve casing having its inner and outer surfaces in moving contact with parts of said valve casing, said sleeve valve controlling the admission of an explosive mixture to said cylinder and -thc exhaust of the burnt gases therefrom. means for lubricating the exteriorsurfaces of said sleeve. *alve, means for delivering oil into said valve casing within said sleeve valve, and means for leading the oil so delivered to the interior surface of said sleeve valve.

3. The combinatioi'i with a cylinder and its piston, of a. valve casing closing the outer end of said cylinder and 'having a cylindrical valve chamber therein provided with an inlet owning and an exhaust opening connecting said valve chamber with saidcylinder, a conduit member disposed centrally within said valve chamber and having its axis coincident with the axis of said valve chamhen said conduit member being hollow to provide a cylindrical \valha diametral wall at one side of which a semi-circular exhaust chamber is formed and a radial wall connecting said diametral wall with said cylindrical wall and fo'rminga qumlrantal oil chamber and a quadrantal inlet conduit at the other side of said diaun'rtral wall. means for supplying said oil chamber with oil. a sleeve valve rotatable between said conduit. member and the wall of said valve chamber and controlling the admission of an explosive mixture to said cylinder and the burnt gases therefrom, means provided for detltl IUD

.livering oil from said quadrantal oil chamber to the inner surface of said sleeve valve, and means for delivering oil to the exterior surface Oil said sleeve valve.

The combination with a plurality of cylinders and a piston reciprocable Within each of said cylinders, of a valve casing closing the outer ends of said cylinders and h ving a cylindrical portion serving as a valve chamber, a cylindrical valve fitting within said valve chamber and having inlet and outlet ports for each cylinder, a cylindrical conduit member within said cylin drical valve having its interior divided into a semicircular passage and two quadrantal passages by a diametral wall and a radial wall extending from said dian'ietral wall to the peripheral wall o't said conduit member, said semicircular passage serving as an ex haust passage, one of said quadrantal pass-rages as an inlet passage and the other quadrantal passage as an oil chamber, means for delivering oil to and from said oil chamber, and an inlet and an outlet for said conduit member.

The combination with a plurality of cylinders and a piston lGLlPl'OCiLl'JlQ within each of said cylinders, of a valve casing closing the outer end of said cylinders and having a cylindrical portion serving as a i chamber, a cylindrical valve fitting hiu said valve chamber and having inlet and outlet ports, a cylindrical conduit member within said cylindrical valve and having its interior divided into an inlet passage, an exhaust passage, and an oil chamber, means for delivering oil to said oil chamber,

means to lead the oil from said oil chamber to the inner surface of said cylindrical valve, and an inlet and an outlet for said conduit member.

6. The combination with a cylinder and a piston reciprocable within said cylinder, of a valve casing closing the outer end of said cylinder and having a cylindrical portion serving as a valve chamber, a cylindrical valve fitting within said valve chamber controlling the inlet of the explosive mixture to and the exhaust of the burnt gases :trom said cylinder, a cylindrical c011- duit member within said cylindrical valve and having in its interior an inlet passage and an exhaust passage, means for delivering oil to the interior and the exterior surface of said valve, and an inlet and an outlet for said conduit member.

7. The combination with a plurality of cylinders and a piston reciprocable within each of said cylinders, of a valve casing closing the outer end of said cylinders and having a cylindrical portion serving as a valve chamber, a cylindrical conduit member disposed axially within said valve casing and spaced therefrom, said conduit member having an inlet passage and an exhaust passage therethrough, a cylindrical rotatable valve fitting within the space between said valve casing and said conduit member and in moving contact with both, means fordelivering oil to the exterior and to the interior surface of said valve, and an inlet and an outlet for said conduit member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDWIN L. COON. 

